In recent years, with the advent of flash memories of large capacities and DVDs (digital versatile discs), the storage volume of recording media has increased even in relatively small-sized electronic devices such as digital video camera, digital still cameras and mobile phones. That trend is making it possible for these small electronic devices to store a large number of pictures inside. Generally, there are two ways for a user to browse the recorded pictures: a full-screen display involving the display of one recorded picture after another over the entire screen through selective manipulations of operation keys; and a catalog-like display with a plurality of thumbnails arrayed on a single screen. The two ways to look up the recorded pictures may be switched as needed.
On a typical digital camera, immediately after picture-taking mode is stopped and replaced by reproduction mode, the picture taken with the highest frame number appears on the screen. Thereafter, either the full-screen display function or the catalog-like display function is selected by operation of a particular key or keys (e.g., see Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2000-278563 (FIG. 24)).
Where the typical technique cited above is in use, the full-screen display function and the catalog-like display function are switched as needed for picture display. However, the full-screen display function generally involves the user's having to manipulate specific keys to display consecutively the pictures taken which have been sorted chronologically, i.e., by picture-taking date. As a result, if there are numerous pictures taken, the user is required to perform an interminable single-frame advance operation until the desired picture is reached.
On the other hand, the catalog-like display function involves displaying a plurality of thumbnails representing the corresponding pictures on the single screen, the thumbnails being displayed typically in zigzag fashion by picture-taking date starting from the top left corner of the screen. On that screen, the user may operate keys to point a cursor at a desired picture for browsing. However, digital still cameras and similar electronic devices are typically equipped with a small screen which, when showing all taken pictures sorted by picture-taking date, makes it troublesome for the user to pinpoint a particular picture.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to overcome the above-described drawbacks and disadvantages and to provide an apparatus and a method for dividing picture data into picture groups and storing the location of the picture data displayed most recently in each picture group, whereby the user's ease of operation is improved.